The Ghana based startup known as Dropifi is making a long trek from their home country as they make their way to California’s Silicon Valley to help expand their company and their tech services. It took just two years for the three founding members behind this growing young startup to not only establish ‘Dropifi’ but to take their company to the United States. The startup was originally founded in 2011 under the supervision of three Ghanaian entrepreneurs; Kamil Nabong, David Osei and Philips Effah.
The program that the trio created is an online tool designed to help different businesses sort their customer feedback right online. The service quickly took off and in less than two years Dropifi has become the very first company from Africa to be part of the 500 Startups program; the program responsible for bringing the Ghanaian startup to the US.
The 500 Startups program is a seed accelerator and investment program based in Silicon Valley. While the startup did have an eventual move to the Silicon Valley in their radar, according to a statement from Osei, they had no idea the team would be making the move so soon. Osei went on toe say that building a global startup business from Ghana that was able to serve the whole world was always the goal, and that a move to Silicon Valley is more than exceeding their expectations.
This journey to Silicon Valley first began at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology, a school located in the capital of Ghana, Accra. This is where David Osei approached Philips Effah with an idea. Osei had noticed how much information businesses today lose online due to the large contact forms on their company websites.
The two realized the huge potential for a new company and began developing the plans for what would become Dropifi. The finished application is a widget designed to put an end to the long and daunting ‘contact us’ forms, but one that can still deliver companies with ‘business-critical insights’ in a spam-free package.
What the tool actually does is it monitors feedback from customers and takes things such as industry trends, current demographics and the sentiment behind customer messages to help businesses today respond more effectively to their customers. The widget is also capable of utilizing information from social media platforms so that companies today are able to have a broader reach with their customers. The program can offer social media as a different platform for businesses to get in touch with their customers through.
After the creators of Dropifi developed their idea, they took part in the Accra Start-up Weekend competition, walking away with an impressive first round of funding and walking away with 20 new paying clients. At the 2012 Global Start-Up Open Competition from the Kauffman Foundation, the team walked away with another top prize and also met Dave McClure from the 500 Startups program. From there, the company was given the opportunity to work with 500 Startups and to make their way to Silicon Valley for a new chapter in their business’s story.
